The Treatment - EP Magazine

The Magazine:  EP

 

Target Readership:  EP is a magazine targeting a similar audience to the already existing Q Magazine, published by the Bauer Media Group, which is described as “Open minded experience seekers, the Q audience don't define themselves by the music they listen to. Music is an important passion”.

 

EP will be read by those who are indeed open minded when it comes to music, but more specifically an audience that is interested in discovering new and upcoming indie, underground or little-known bands (hence the name, EP). The age target will be from around 15 to 20 years old as these are typically the ages in which people are interested in new, upcoming indie music. In terms of finance, the 15-20 age groups will likely be able to purchase EP themselves out of their earnings or pocket money in the C1/C2 classes. The audience of my magazine will mostly be men interested in gigs, musical interests, and high expenditure on music in general.  EP readers will tend to be musically aware or talented, with greater appreciation for new types of music and the background behind it. They will also be people with a wide interest in various bands and music genres that influence indie music in some way. EP readers will be those with aspirations in the music industry or those wanting inspiration from artists. Readers will be those who have music as a main part of their life, not afraid to actively search out music on the internet, be recommended new bands/groups and listen to older music that is not as popular as modern day music.

 

Form and Style:  EP is an A4 full colour magazine which contains interviews, album reviews, roundups of collections/records, gig coverage, news and new/alternative bands or groups. Covers use models of approximately the same age group as the target audience and use non-garish colours such as blues and purples, with appearances of clashing colours to highlight things (e.g. green).  EP will regularly feature unknown, new, or up and coming bands on the front cover, to introduce readers to them and intrigue them to buy and read EP.  Cover lines will be related to the above mentioned albums reviews, interviews (Though this will often be the main headline), news etc. Graphics used will be to try and show the audience that this magazine is good value for money, with sticker-like graphics and turned-page graphics creating a jam packed front cover whilst remaining refined.  The magazine will sell at £2.75, a new pricing scheme for a fortnightly EP issue rather than the usual monthly or weekly.

 

Themes and Typical features:  EP will have many regular features typical to that of indie or alternative magazines such as Q.  Every issue will include gig coverage, album or band reviews, and interviews with artists as well as (if possible) a new band each issue.  There will be a strong focus on indie music although it is not solely indie and covers new genres as well. EP will also attempt to include reader opinions on reviews and gig coverage, though this will obviously not be in the first issue. The magazine will also include the latest news from the alternative/indie scene and articles could include things such as music lessons, advice, tips and tutorials the writers will use language familiar to the target audience to make the magazine, using some technical music vocabulary, showing that the audience will have to be knowledgeable to read the magazine.

 

Potential advertisers:  A range of brands will advertise in the magazine each week, particularly those relating to the typical interests of musically interested people. These will include game advertisements from companies such as Ubisoft, EA Games or Bethesda Softworks. Adverts will naturally also include album adverts for recently released or upcoming releases. New band DVD releases could be included, such as “The Beatles – Cirque du Soleil” .Finally, there will naturally be adverts with details of upcoming gigs and events.

 

Editorial Team:  The editorial team for EP will be made up of experienced writers and designers from Extended Play Media Group. The team will be mostly made up of young, musically interested and experienced men around the 20 year old mark, however, readers of the magazine will also regularly be asked to contribute their ideas in the form of e-mail or letters and older writers can contribute to the classic/older music features. The team will do extensive research on competing magazines to attempt to include fresh articles that the competition isn’t including, or are doing so only on a vague/basic level  The aim of the team is to bring fresh ideas to the target audience whilst also having a wealth of reliable experience.